A picturesque name for Orthanc, the citadel of the Wizard Saruman in the Circle of Isengard. The original Elvish name for the Tower and its Circle was Angrenost, 'iron fortress', but after the settlement of Saruman there, the Rohirrim gave the Tower a new name in their own tongue: Orthanc, the 'cunning mind'. Apparently by coincidence, this new name contained Elvish elements that could be meaningfully translated as 'Mount Fang', a suitable name for a tower surmounted by sharp horns.
It should be noted that the history of the name Orthanc is not laid out in detail by Tolkien, but the version described above seems to be unavoidable. See note 1 below for further discussion on the topic.
Notes
1 |
The origins of the name Orthanc are ambiguous, but it seems most likely to be a late name, having been given to the Tower after the coming of Saruman in III 2759 (since orthanc to the Rohirrim meant 'cunning mind', and it was Saruman to whom this name referred). The fact that the name could also be treated as Elvish and roughly translated from that language as 'Mount Fang' appears to have been a simple coincidence.
The alternative view, that Orthanc was named early and always intended to mean 'Mount Fang', seems rather less plausible. For that interpretation to work, the name would have had to coincidentally form a single meaningful word in the entirely different language of a people who would not settle the land until far in the future, and also be perfectly fitted to an occupant who would only take up residence there long after the Rohirrim had arrived.
|
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 9 March 2020
- This entry is complete
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2001, 2015-2016, 2020. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.
Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Discovery aptitude and skill testing.
Personality is one part of understanding a candidate's suitability for a role, but aptitude can also be crucial.
SHARE
